William Wilkins Newton and Nancy Haley Newton

War Eagle Mill – War Eagle, Arkansas – Photo by Jeff Weese/Flickr

Wilkins and Nancy Newton raised their family of nine children in Madison County, Arkansas near War Eagle.

In my research, I haven’t been able to find out a whole lot about either Wilkins or Nancy but I’ll keep looking! Maybe a trip to Arkansas and Tennessee is in order.

What I do know is that Wilkins was born about 1810 in Pulaski, Giles County, Tennessee to John and Elizabeth (Harris) Newton. His full name was William Wilkins Newton and I believe he was the oldest of seven. I believe the Newton family remained in Tennessee for the entirety of Wilkins’ childhood.

Nancy Haley was also born in Tennessee, according to census records. Her birthdate was September 8, 1814, but I have not been able to determine with any certainty who her parents were.

Regardless, Wilkins and Nancy married about 1834 in Tennessee when Wilkins was about 24 and Nancy 20. From everything I can find, Wilkins was a farmer and Nancy worked right along beside him.

The couple’s first three children were born in Tennessee – George Grandason Newton, 1840; William James Newton, 1842; and Amanda D. Newton, 1844. By the time their next daughter, my 2nd great-grandmother, Nancy Jane Newton, was born in 1845, the family was living in Mississippi. Mary Catherine Newton, 1846, and John W. Newton, 1848, were also born in Mississippi.

When the federal census takers came around in 1850, they found our Newton family living near War Eagle Township, Madison County, Arkansas. Wilkins was listed as a farmer. The following year, 1851, little Mary M. Newton joined the family, followed by Tennessee Addina Newton in 1854, and finally, Pulaski A. Newton in 1855. (Though I have a copy of Pulaski’s obituary that states he was born in Missouri.) Nine kids in all! I love that they named one of their daughters Tennessee. Was Nancy and Wilkins missing home?

The 1860 census finds them still in Madison County, Arkansas, (which makes Pulaski’s obituary’s claim that he was born in Missouri seem a little strange). Wilkins is 49, Nancy 46, and they are both farming. Their oldest son, George, is working as a mail carrier and their residence is listed as California Township. They do not own their own land.

In 1861, the Civil War began to rage around them. From the little bit of research I did, it seems that Madison County was divided, with many citizens taking the side of the confederacy but others joining the union side. The county was razed by bushwhackers who stole everything they could get their hands on, burnt down homes and farms, and even killed people. It must have been an incredibly scary time. From what I read, the war left so much devastation and poverty in Madison County that it took years to recover.

For our Newton family, the two oldest boys, George and William “Billy,” fought for the confederacy. William James Newton was killed in battle near Kingston, Arkansas in January of 1865. I believe he died in the Battle of Dardanelle, but again, not one-hundred percent sure on that, though the dates match up.

It’s been a struggle to find records, some of which is caused by the how badly entire towns were razed during the civil war. Scads of records were lost. It looks as if our Wilkins died during the thick of all that mess – either 1864 or 1865. I believe he is buried in Rush Cemetery in Berryville, Carroll County, Arkansas.

The war has come to an end. Nancy has been left a widow at about the age of 50. She’s lost one son to the war and still has young children at home. We find her in 1870 living in Prairie Township, Carroll County, Arkansas with son George and his family. Six of her kids, ranging in age from 25 to 15, are living there as well. George is farming, married to a woman named Francis, and has two young children of his own.

At the age of 62, Nancy passed away on August 20th, 1878. She is buried in the Rush Cemetery in Berryville, Arkansas.

(Wilkins and Nancy are my 3rd great-grandparents.)